Storage device

ABSTRACT

A storage device includes an enclosure, a plurality of drive connectors within the enclosure to which media drives are connected, a cooling fan in the enclosure, a backboard positioned to divide an interior space of the enclosure in an anteroposterior direction, and a plurality of temperature-dependent devices disposed behind the backboard. Air is taken in via an enclosure front face from outside the enclosure due to the cooling fan&#39;s rotation, flows through the interior space of the enclosure, and passes through the backboard. The backboard has all or some of the drive connectors on a front face thereof, arranged in a matrix configuration having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. The plurality of drive connectors includes two first drive connectors, each first drive connector connected to a user-detachable media drive and located in a same column of the matrix configuration.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/007,592, filed Jan. 14, 2008, which claims the benefit of priorityfrom Japanese Patent Application number 2007-106273, filed on Apr. 13,2007, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to a storage device.

The mounting of respective media drives in a canister and theinstallation of respective canisters in the storage device is known(Japanese Application Laid Open No. 2005-158101, for example). Acanister is a device provided with a media drive (a hard disk drive, forexample) and a handle and so forth.

In maintenance work, the media drive in the canister can be removed fromthe storage device by pulling out the canister by grasping the handlethereof. In order to perform maintenance work, a certain degree ofknowledge with regard to the constitution of the storage device and themethod of using same and so forth is generally required. However, usersthat use the storage device are not necessarily limited to suchknowledge. Hence, an improvement in user convenience is desirable.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a storagedevice of favorable user convenience.

Further objects of the present invention will become evident from thefollowing description.

Two or more media drives are pre-installed in an enclosure in such a waythat removal by the user is impossible. An expansion slot member withexpansion drive slots in a smaller number than the number of mediadrives that can be pre-installed is provided. The media drives that areinstalled via the expansion drive slots can be removed by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view that provides an outside view from thefront face of the storage device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view that provides an outside view from the rearof the storage device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view that provides an outside view from thefront of the interior of the enclosure of the storage device;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view that provides an outside view from the rearof the interior of the enclosure of the storage device;

FIG. 5 shows a linear view of the interior of the storage device;

FIG. 6 shows a functional block diagram of the storage device;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the constitution of the main controller;

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the disposition of a redundant maincontroller;

FIG. 8B is a front view of a redundant main controller;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a drive connector matrix;

FIG. 10A shows a valid connection of a SAS HDD;

FIG. 10B shows a valid connection of a SATA HDD;

FIG. 11A shows an (erroneous connection case 1) and an (erroneousconnection case 3);

FIG. 11B shows an (erroneous connection case 2);

FIG. 12A is an upper view of a backboard in which the SAS connector ispre-provided with a dongle board;

FIG. 12B is a rear view of the SAS HDD;

FIG. 12C is a rear view of a SATA HDD;

FIG. 12D is a perspective view of a backboard-side SAS connector of theSAS storage device;

FIG. 13A serves to illustrate a modified example for the prevention ofthe erroneous connection (of erroneous connection case 2);

FIG. 13B shows an example of a display screen that displays a warning tothe effect that a SATA HDD has been erroneously connected, according tothe modified example;

FIG. 14A shows the backboard and SATA HDD of the modified example forthe prevention of an erroneous connection (of the erroneous connectioncase 3) from the side;

FIG. 14B shows part of the cross-section of the backboard of the SASstorage device of this modified example;

FIG. 14C is a perspective view of a member that is embedded in a holethat is provided in the backboard according to the modified example;

FIG. 15A shows the attachment of a first inside front bezel and a secondinside front bezel to the front face of the enclosure;

FIG. 15B shows a door that is provided in the repair HDD slot;

FIG. 16A shows that there is a risk of the HDD moving as a result of theresin or the like of the connector;

FIG. 16B shows the difference in the HDD front face position between anSAS storage device and SATA storage device;

FIG. 17 shows the rear of the inside front bezel;

FIG. 18A is a perspective view of an example of a plate spring portionthat is provided at the rear of the inside front bezel;

FIG. 18B is a perspective view of a modified example of a plate springportion that is provided at the rear of the inside front bezel;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view from the rear of the storage device priorto removal of a second enclosure cover;

FIG. 20 shows removal of the second enclosure cover after an AC powercable is pulled from the power cable connector at the rear of theenclosure;

FIG. 21 shows that, when a fixing member is removed in order to fix thesecond enclosure cover to the enclosure and the second enclosure coveris capable of sliding rearward to any position, the second enclosurecover can be opened even when the AC power cable is still connected tothe rear of the enclosure;

FIG. 22A is a perspective view of the second enclosure cover;

FIG. 22B is a right-side view of the storage device;

FIG. 23A shows the sliding of the second enclosure cover to the rear ofthe enclosure;

FIG. 23B shows the removal of the second enclosure cover from theenclosure 2 by lifting and pulling rearward the rearward part of thesecond enclosure cover that has been made to slide;

FIG. 24 shows the disposition of temperature sensors in the enclosure;

FIG. 25A shows an example of a first fan control table;

FIG. 25B shows an example of a second fan control table;

FIG. 26 shows the flow of fan control processing;

FIG. 27 shows an example of a third fan control table;

FIG. 28 shows a modified example of the disposition of the temperaturesensors in the enclosure;

FIG. 29 shows rails for guiding the HDD to the front face of thebackboard;

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram of a method for preventing anerroneous connection (of the erroneous connection case 3);

FIG. 31A is a perspective view of a lug hole in which a second lug ofthe second enclosure cover is inserted; and

FIG. 31B shows the flow from the time the second enclosure cover iscovered until the time the second lug is caught in the lug hole.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One point in common to the following plurality of embodiments is thatthe storage device comprises a plurality of media drives in theenclosure.

In one embodiment, two or more media drives are connected beforehand totwo or more drive connectors among a plurality of drive connectorsprovided in the enclosure and these two or more media drives areundetachable. An expansion slot member that has a smaller number ofexpansion drive slots than the number of media drives that can bepre-installed (the lowest number of pre-installed media drives, forexample) is provided in the enclosure. The plurality of drive connectorsis a set of a first drive connector to which a media drive (sometimescalled ‘expansion drive’ hereinbelow) inserted via an expansion driveslot is connected and a second drive connector to which a pre-installedmedia drive is connected. The expansion drive connected to the firstdrive connector is installed so as to be detachable by the user.

Media drives are the drives of storage media and hard disks, DVD(Digital Versatile Disks), CD (Compact Disk), opto-magnetic drives, orsemiconductor memory (flash memory, for example) can be adopted as thestorage media.

In one embodiment, a cooling fan, backboard, and a plurality oftemperature-dependant devices are provided in the enclosure. Thebackboard is a circuit substrate at whose front face all or some of theplurality of drive connectors are provided and which is disposed suchthat the enclosure space is divided. The plurality oftemperature-dependent devices are disposed at the rear of the backboard(back face of the backboard). Air is taken in via the front face of theenclosure from outside the enclosure as a result of the rotation of thecooling fan and flows in the enclosure and the air passes through thebackboard. A media drive is connected beforehand to a second driveconnector other than a certain drive connector on the backboard.

In one embodiment, the front face of the backboard has a matrix that isconstituted by a first drive connector and a second drive connector. Therespective rows that constitute the matrix are parallel to the widthdirection of the enclosure and the respective columns constituting thematrix are parallel to the height direction of the enclosure. Thecertain drive connector is a drive connector in a position that isdetermined on the basis of predetermined rules. The predetermined rulesare at least one of the following rules (1) to (5).

(Rule 1): media drives are connected in order of priority to a seconddrive connector located in front of a device of low temperaturedependence;

(Rule 2): drive connectors to which media drives are not connected arenot successive in each column of the matrix;

(Rule 3): The first drive connector is in a column on the edge of thematrix;

(Rule 4): Media drives are connected in order of priority to the driveconnectors that constitute at least one column of a plurality of columnslocated in front of the controller in the matrix;

(Rule 5): Media drives are connected in order of priority to a driveconnector in a low position.

In one embodiment, the plurality of temperature-dependent devicesinclude a battery and a power device. A media drive is not connected toa drive connector that is in front of the battery (upstream of the flowof the air, for example) and a media drive is connected to the driveconnector in front of the power device.

In one embodiment, a media drive and controller are connected beforehandto the rear face of the backboard and a battery is provided in front ofthe power device and space that is produced between the media drive andcontroller.

In one embodiment, a battery is provided in front of the power devicewithin the enclosure.

In one embodiment, the power device and power connector on the rear faceof the backboard are connected by means of a cable.

In one embodiment, a battery control circuit substrate for controllingthe discharge of the battery is provided in front of the battery in aposition that is spaced apart from the battery. The battery controlcircuit substrate and the battery are connected by means of a cable.

In one embodiment, a switch control circuit substrate with a switch forturning ON the power of the power device is provided in a position inwhich the switch is exposed via the rear face. The battery controlcircuit substrate and the switch control circuit substrate areconstituted having substantially the same size. The battery controlcircuit substrate is provided in the vicinity of the switch controlcircuit substrate (in substantially the same position, for example).

In one embodiment, a backboard which is a circuit substrate having aplurality of drive connectors is provided. Each of the plurality ofdrive connectors is a SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) drive connector. Two ormore media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted bySATA drives and each SATA drive (Serial ATA) drive is connected to thesecond drive connector via an interface conversion device. The interfaceconversion device is connected beforehand to the first drive connector.

In one embodiment, two or more media drives that are undetachablypre-installed are constituted by SAS drives. Each SAS drive is connecteddirectly to a second drive connector without the involvement of aninterface conversion device that is interposed between the SATA driveand SAS drive connector in order to connect the SATA drive to the SASdrive connector. The storage device is shipped without the interfaceconversion device being attached as an accessory.

In one embodiment, two or more media drives that are undetachablypre-installed are constituted by SATA drives. Each SATA drive isconnected to a second drive connector via an interface conversiondevice. Each of the one or more first drive connectors is provided witha protrusion that enters a cutout that is absent from the connector of aSATA drive but which exists in the connector of a SAS drive in caseswhere the SAS drive is connected.

In one embodiment, two or more media drives that are undetachablypre-installed are constituted by SATA drives. Each SATA drive isconnected to a second drive connector via an interface conversiondevice. The storage device is provided with a sensing section forsensing the fact that a SATA drive has been erroneously connected to thefirst drive connector and a reporting section that reports the fact aSATA drive has been erroneously connected. The sensing section and thereporting section may each be hardware, a computer program, or acombination thereof (where part is formed by hardware and the rest is acomputer program).

In one embodiment, when two or more media drives that are undetachablypre-installed are constituted by SATA drives, each SATA drive isconnected to a second drive connector via an interface conversiondevice. A hole (which need not be a through-hole, for example) is madein the vicinity of the first drive connector of the backboard (in anarea of the backboard opposite the interface conversion device in caseswhere the interface conversion device is connected to the first driveconnector, for example). The interface conversion device is attached asan accessory and a protrusion is provided in the surface of theinterface conversion device opposite the backboard. In cases where theinterface conversion device is connected to the first drive connector,the protrusion provided in a position facing the hole in the backboardenters the hole. The interface that is attached as an accessory is adevice that is attached to a SATA drive that is inserted in theexpansion drive slot.

In one embodiment, in cases where the two or more media drives that areundetachably pre-installed are constituted by SAS drives, the hole inthe backboard is covered beforehand.

In one embodiment, a first front bezel is undetachably attached to thefront face of the enclosure. The first front bezel covers the frontfaces of the pre-installed media drives and the surface of the firstfront bezel is constituted by an insulator.

In one embodiment, the expansion slot member has a door that opens andcloses the expansion drive slot.

In one embodiment, the door is two doors that are spaced vertically inthe height direction of the enclosure and the two doors are constitutedto open in the direction of insertion of a media drive. The expansiondrive slot is provided in a position spaced apart in a forward directionby a distance equal to or more than the widths of each of the two doorsfrom the front face of the media drive connected via the slot.

In one embodiment, an insulating second front bezel is detachablyattached to the doors; and the attached first front bezel issubstantially flush with the attached second front bezel.

In one embodiment, a power cable connector that is provided on the rearface of the enclosure and a detachable enclosure cover that has a memberthat surrounds the power cable connector and which constitutes at leastpart of the upper surface of the enclosure are provided.

In one embodiment, the enclosure cover has an insertion section that isinserted in the member constituting a separate part of the upper surfaceof the enclosure and the length of the insertion section in theposterior direction is greater than the distance that the enclosurecover is able to move in the posterior direction.

In one embodiment, a partial area of the rear face of the enclosuresinks forward and a connector for a connection with the controller isprovided at the maximum depth of the cavity. This connector makes itpossible to connect a cable or a dedicated line for communicating via acommunication network with a device outside the storage device, forexample.

In one embodiment, each of the connected media drives is itself a mediadrive that is not attached to a canister.

In one embodiment, pushable sections that push the media drives areinstalled on the rear faces of the first and second front bezels.

In one embodiment, pushable sections are respective elastic members thatare provided in respective positions facing the respective media drives.

In one embodiment, the distance from the rear faces of the first andsecond front bezels to the media drives that are connected to the driveconnectors differs depending on whether the media drives are SAS drivesor SATA drives. The pushable sections are constituted to push the SASdrives or SATA drives by means of a stronger force than the force thatwould cause the drives to fall out in a state where the first and secondfront bezels are attached irrespective of the distance from the rearfaces of the first and second front bezels to the front faces of therespective media drives.

In one embodiment, rails for guiding the inserted media drives to thedrive connectors are provided for each drive connector. The height ofthe passage along which the media drives pass on the rails is a heightthat corresponds with the height of the media drives.

In one embodiment, a first temperature sensor that detects thetemperature of the processor or in the vicinity thereof; and a secondtemperature sensor that detects the temperature in the vicinity of anexhaust vent for air that is taken in by the cooling fan are provided.The controller controls the speed of the cooling fan on the basis offirst temperature control information corresponding with the firsttemperature sensor and second temperature control information thatcorresponds with the second temperature sensor. The respective first andsecond temperature control information expresses the correspondencebetween the detected temperature range and speed.

Two or more embodiments among the above plurality of embodiments can becombined.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelow indetail with reference to the drawings.

<Constitution and Functions of Storage Device>

FIG. 1 is a perspective view that provides an outside view from thefront of the storage device according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view that provides an outside viewfrom the rear of the storage device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view thatprovides an outside view from the front of the interior of the enclosureof the storage device. FIG. 4 is a perspective view that provides anoutside view from the rear of the interior of the enclosure of thestorage device. FIGS. 3 and 4 represent cases where the maximum numberof hard disk drives (HDD) including the repair HDD (describedsubsequently) are installed (fourteen HDD are installed, for example).As described subsequently, the maximum number of hard disk drives neednot be installed. Furthermore, in the following description, in order toeasily understand the positional relationship of each of the constituentelements, the first horizontal direction toward the front face of theenclosure is referred to as ‘right’ and the other horizontal directionto the front face of the enclosure is known as ‘left’ for the sake ofconvenience. The storage device may have a constitution that isbilaterally symmetric to the constitution shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

The storage device 1 has an enclosure 2. Enclosure 2 is a substantiallyrectangular parallelepiped-shaped box, for example (a rectangularparallelepiped-shaped box which is longest in the depth direction, wherethe width is next-longest and the height is the shortest, for example).The height of the enclosure 2 is 2U, for example, the width of theenclosure 2 is substantially 450 mm, for example (on the order of 445 mmto 455 mm, for example), and the depth of the enclosure 2 issubstantially 700 mm, for example (on the order of 695 mm to 705 mm, forexample).

The front face of the enclosure 2 is free and the HDD 20 is inserted viathe front face and housed within the enclosure 2. An attachment 3A isprovided on both ends of the front face of the enclosure 2 (both ends inthe width direction of the enclosure 2). An outside front bezel 3 thatcovers the whole of the front face of the enclosure 2 is attached to theattachment 3A with an inside front bezel 501 (described subsequently)(FIG. 18 shows the rear face of an example thereof) interposedtherebetween. More specifically, a flange that extends laterally fromboth the left and right ends of the enclosure front face is provided asthe attachment 3A, for example, and an outside front bezel 3 is attachedto the flange. The outside front bezel 3 is provided with a plurality ofthrough-holes (slits, for example) 325 to allow the air outside theenclosure 2 to flow into the enclosure 2. Likewise, a plurality ofthrough-holes for allowing the air outside the enclosure 2 to flow intothe enclosure 2 are provided in the inside front bezel 501.

A circuit substrate (‘backboard’ hereinbelow) 30 is provided in order todivide the space within the enclosure 2 into a front part and a rearpart in the enclosure 2. HDD (a maximum of twelve HDD, for example) 20,which are connected to the front face of the backboard 30, exist in theintra-enclosure front part and main controllers 10A and 10B, powerdevices 50A and 50B, batteries 60A and 60B, cooling fans 71A and 71B, aswitch subcontroller 321, and a battery subcontroller 323 which areconnected to the rear face of the backboard 30 exist in theintra-enclosure rear part. The main controllers, power devices,batteries, and cooling fans are each multiplexed (duplexed, for example)and, as a result, the main controllers 10A and 10B, power devices 50Aand 50B, batteries 60A and 60B and cooling fans 71A and 71B are created.The main controllers and power devices are each circuit substrates, forexample. In FIG. 3, the main controller 10B is not visible, being hiddendirectly below the main controller 10A and therefore appears in thisdescription as ‘10A (10B)’.

The upper surface of the enclosure 2 is constituted by a first enclosurecover 441 and a second enclosure cover 431. The first enclosure cover441 covers the intra-enclosure front part (the HDD housed toward thefront within the enclosure, for example) and is constituted such thatsame cannot be removed from the enclosure 2, for example (the firstenclosure cover 441 is integrated with both side walls constituting bothsides of the enclosure 2 respectively or welded to both side walls, forexample). The second enclosure cover 431 covers the intra-enclosurefront part and is constituted such that same cannot be removed from theenclosure 2. However, the second enclosure cover (top panel, forexample) 431 is constituted such that same cannot be removed while an ACpower cable remains inserted in the rear face of the enclosure 2 (theconstitution will be described in detail subsequently).

The rear face of the enclosure 2 is provided with through-holes 12A and12B, power cable connectors 305A and 305B and a main switch 301. Thethrough-holes 12A and 12B are exhaust holes through which air flowswithin the enclosure as a result of the rotation of the cooling fans 71Aand 71B. The power cable connectors 305A and 305B are each connected tothe power devices 50A and 50B. The main switch 301 is a switch forturning the power of the power devices 50A and 50B ON and OFF.

A partial area of the rear face of the enclosure 2 sinks toward thefront and a communication connector group (a group that is constitutedby one or more LAN (Local Area Network) connectors and/or communicationconnectors of another type, for example) 307A and 3078 are provided atthe maximum depth of this recess. The communication connector groups307A and 3078 are connected directly (or via a cable) to the maincontrollers 10A and 108 respectively. The recess can be expected to havethe effect of one type of countermeasure against static electricity.Further, the recess is behind the main controllers 10A and 108 and,therefore, the length of the main controllers 10A and 108 in theanteroposterior direction (the length in the depth direction) can beshortened further than the length of the intra-enclosure rear part inthe anteroposterior direction.

Main controller connectors for electrically connecting each of the maincontrollers 10A and 108 are aligned vertically in the rear face of thebackboard 30. In other words, the main controllers 10A and 108 aredisposed in the form of layers. Here, as exemplified in FIGS. 8A and 8B,main controllers 10A and 108 are disposed facing one another. As aresult, the cross-sectional area of the flow path for the air that flowsas a result of the rotation of the cooling fans 71A and 71B can bewidened as much as possible. The controllers 10A and 108 overlap in aplanar view (with a substantially complete overlap, for example).However, the constitution can be made such that an overlap in a planarview between the processor sections 130A and 1308 which constitute theheat-generating parts of the controllers 10A and 108 is avoided and sothat there is no concentration of sites with a high temperature in theair flow path.

Drive connectors and, more specifically, 3×4 (three in a verticaldirection and four in a horizontal direction) drive connectors which arearranged in a matrix shape are provided on the front face of thebackboard 30. In addition, two drive connectors which are aligned in thecolumn direction are provided on the rear face of the backboard 30. As aresult, the storage device 1 allows a maximum of fourteen HDD to beconnected to the rear face of the backboard 30. Of these HDD, apredetermined number (two, for example) are repair HDD 20 (R) (describedsubsequently) while the remainder are HDD 20(N) which are pre-installedsuch that same cannot be exchanged by the user (in cases where the HDDare described by distinguishing between the repair HDD and the otherHDD, the reference numerals 20(R) and 20(N) are employed). The repairHDD 20(R) are HDD which are located in the lowermost position and HDDwhich are located in the uppermost position of the column on thefar-right column of the matrix. Although not shown in FIGS. 1 to 4,enclosure 2 has respective repair HDD slots for the insertion of therepair HDD 20(R) and the HDD 20, which are inserted via the repair HDDslot and connected to the front face of the backboard 30, are the repairHDD 20(R). Two repair HDD 20(R) are located in the uppermost andlowermost positions of the far-right column of the matrix as will bedescribed subsequently and the repair HDD slots are also each providedin positions facing these two positions. Hence, the repair HDD slots arealso aligned in the column direction and the interval between the repairHDD slots is substantially the same as the thickness of the HDD.

The fact that the HDD 20(N) are mounted so as to not be exchangeable bythe user is specifically as follows, for example. In other words, afirst inside front bezel part that covers substantially the whole of thearea opposite the HDD 20(N) which is the area of the front face of theenclosure is fixed to the front face of the enclosure such that anexchange is impossible. Hence, the HDD 20(N) in the enclosure front partare held via the front face of the enclosure and cannot be pulled outfrom the front. Further, power devices 50A and 50B are disposed in thevicinity of and directly after the HDD 20(N) which are connected to therear face of the backboard 30 and the power devices 50A and 50B aresecured such that same cannot be removed. As a result, it is impossibleto pull out the HDD 20(N) connected to the rear face of the backboard 30from the rear.

A variety of other types of media drive, such as, for example, hard diskdrives, flash memory drives, opto-magnetic drives, and tape devicedrives may also be adopted in place of the HDD 20. However, in thisembodiment, HDD are adopted as described earlier. Further, a variety ofcommunication interfaces can be adopted as the communication interfaceof the HDD, but, in this embodiment, an SATA (Serial AT Attachment) orSAS (Serial Attached SCSI) interface is used. In other words, in thisembodiment, a plurality of HDD which are installed in the enclosure 2can be constituted by only HDD (SATA HDD) with a SATA interface or anHDD (SAS HDD) with a SAS interface. In addition, HDD are not installedin the enclosure 2 in another member such as a canister. The HDDthemselves are installed as is in the enclosure 2.

A wall (‘column boundary wall’ hereinbelow) 461 is provided between thecolumns of HDD in front of the backboard 30. One role of the columnboundary wall 461, as exemplified by FIG. 29, is that of the attachmentof U-shaped rails 463 for guiding the HDD inserted via the front face ofthe enclosure toward the front face of the backboard 30. The height ofthe U-shaped rails 463 (the height of the path along which the HDDtravel) is a height that is close to the height of the HDD 20 and whichallows the HDD 20 to travel smoothly. As a result of the U-shaped rails463, the HDD can also be connected to the front face of the backboard 30without vertical wobble and the HDD can be connected and then supportedwithout vertical wobble. In addition, one HDD slot 468 is substantiallyformed with a U-shaped rail 463 on both sides of one HDD 20 (N).

The respective power devices 50A and 50B are disposed on the left of therear part of the main controllers 10A and 10B, that is, close to theleft side of the enclosure 2. Expressed using a different perspective,HDD which are connected to the front face of the backboard 30 movingfrom the front face of the enclosure toward the rear face of theenclosure close to the left wide of the enclosure 2 (HDD are alsosometimes not installed in the leftmost column of the matrix), HDD whichare connected to the rear face of the backboard 30, the power devices50A and 50B and one cooling fan 71A are aligned in that order. The powerdevices 50A and 50B are also arranged in a layered shape as per the maincontrollers 10A and 10B.

Batteries 60A and 60B are provided in the space between the maincontrollers 10A and 10B and the HDD which are connected to the frontface of the backboard 30. In other words, batteries 60A and 60B areprovided in front of the power devices 50A and 50B (in other words, fromanother standpoint, upstream of the air flowing through the enclosure).The batteries 60A and 60B can be expected to have a higher temperaturedependence than the power devices 50A and 50B (are easily adverselyaffected by temperature) but a longer life when disposed as illustratedthan when disposed close to the rear face of the enclosure. This isbecause the temperature of the air cooling the batteries 60A and 60B islow in comparison with the temperature when the batteries 60A and 60Bare disposed close to the rear face of the enclosure.

The switch subcontroller 321 has a main switch 301 and is disposed in aposition that exposes the main switch 301 via the rear face of theenclosure such that same can be manipulated by the user. The batterysubcontroller 323 has substantially the same size as the switchsubcontroller 321 and is disposed close to the rear face of theenclosure and close to the switch subcontroller 321 (in substantiallythe same position, for example). The switch subcontroller 321 andbattery subcontroller 323 are disposed vertically in parallel and thesize thereof in the depth direction in this case is substantially thesame size as the total size of two or more cooling fans 71A disposed inseries in the depth direction, for example.

The cooling fans (air-cooling fans, for example) 71A and 71B are eachdisposed in series. When this is described by taking the cooling fan 71Aas an example, two or more cooling fans 71A (two, for example) areprovided and these two or more cooling fans 71A are disposed in series.As a result, because of the high static pressure in comparison with acase where the two or more cooling fans 71A are aligned in parallel, thecooling target element can be adequately cooled even when a plurality ofelements are mounted densely within the enclosure as shown in FIGS. 3and 4. Further, the cooling fans 71A and 71B are disposed in asymmetrical positional relationship close to the enclosure rear face,for example (oriented toward both sides of the enclosure 2, forexample). The cooling fans 71A and 71B are provided close to thethrough-holes 12A and 12B and are, therefore, so-called pull-type fans.

The flow of air that is produced due to the rotation of the cooling fans71A and 71B (that is, the flow of air within the enclosure) will bedescribed hereinbelow.

A plurality of through-bores 325 are provided in the outside front bezel3. A plurality of through-bores is also provided in the inside frontbezel interposed between the outside front bezel 3 and front face of theenclosure. Even when the maximum number of HDD are installed, there is agap between the rows (and/or between the columns) of the matrix of HDD.A plurality of through-bores are provided in the backboard 30.

As a result of the rotation of the cooling fans 71A and 71B, the airoutside the enclosure 2 passes through the plurality of through-bores ofthe outside front bezel 3 and the plurality of through-bores of theinside front bezel before being introduced to the enclosure. Further,this air passes through the gap between the respective HDD and passesthrough the through-bores of the backboard 30. The air that has passesthrough the backboard 30 is drawn rearward as a result of the rotationof the cooling fans 71A and 71B and flows through the main controllers10A and 10B, the batteries 60A and 60B, the HDD connected to the rearface of the backboard 30, and the power devices 50A and 50B and so forthand is exhausted from the through-holes 12A and 12B. As a result, therespective HDD constituting the matrix, main controllers 10A and 10B onthe rear face of the backboard 30 (in particular the processor sectionswhich constitute the heat-generating portions), batteries 60A and 60B,HDD, and power devices 50A and 50B are cooled.

FIG. 5 shows a line diagram in the storage device 1. In the example ofFIG. 5, the HDD installed in the storage device 1 are all SATA HDD butthe HDD installed in the storage device 1 may instead all be SAS HDD. Inaddition, in FIG. 5, the controllers are written as ‘CTL’.

Ten or fewer HDD 20(N) are connected beforehand to the front face of thebackboard 30 and two or fewer HDD 20(N) are connected beforehand to therear face of the backboard 30. A maximum two repair HDD 20(R) can beconnected to the front face of the backboard 30. The HDD 20(N) that areconnected beforehand are installed such that same cannot be exchanged bythe user whereas the repair HDD 20(R) can be exchanged by the user. Themaximum numbers of each of the HDD 20(N) and repair HDD 20(R) need notbe limited to those of the above example but the maximum number ofrepair HDD 20(R) (in other words, the number of repair drive slots) issmaller than the maximum number of HDD 20(N). As a result, only some ofthe HDD 20 are user-exchange targets and, therefore, the labor of theuser can be reduced in comparison with a case where all of the HDD 20are exchange targets. Further, the ‘maximum number of repair HDD 20(R)’above is the maximum number of repair HDD 20(R) that can be installed atthe same time and is not the maximum number of HDD that can be repairHDD. For example, three or more HDD 20 can also be used while beingexchanged as repair HDD (can be employed, for example). Furthermore, inaddition to the HDD 20(N), at least one of the main controllers 10A and10B, the power devices 50A and 50B, the cooling fans 71A and 71B may beinstalled so as to be exchangeable by the user. In the description ofthis embodiment, ‘repair HDD’ is the name for the sake of conveniencefor the HDD that can be exchanged by the user and need not necessarilybe used for a repair (data repair, for example) and may also be used inother applications. More specifically, for example, the repair HDD 20(R)may also be used as a backup destination HDD for the HDD 20(N).

AC power cables 433A and 433B are connected to the power cableconnectors 305A and 305B respectively. The power cable connectors 305Aand 305B and AC power input terminals 311A and 311B at the rear end ofthe power devices 50A and 50B are connected by power cables 312A and312B (or directly connected). The DC power output terminals 313A and313B at the front end of the power devices 50A and 50B and the powerconnectors 315A and 315B provided at the rear face of the backboard 30are each connected by power cables 314A and 314B. An AC output is inputto the AC power input terminals 311A and 311B via the power cables 312Aand 312B by the power cable connectors 305A and 305B and is converted toDC power by the power devices 50A and 50B. The DC power is output by theDC power output terminals 313A and 313B and supplied to a variety ofdevices (HDD 20 and main controllers 10A and 10B, for example) via thepower cables 314A and 314B and the backboard 30.

A cable such as a LAN cable is connected to the various communicationconnectors of the communication connector cables 307A and 307B at therear end of the main controllers 10A and 10B. The main controllers 10Aand 10B are able to communicate with at least one external device (adevice outside the storage device 1) such as, for example, a managementdevice that manages the storage device 1, the host computer thattransmits an I/O request using a predetermined communication protocol(the iSCSI protocol, for example) to the storage device 1.

In addition, the main controllers 10A and 10B are electrically connectedto the switch subcontroller 321 and are able to control the speed of thecooling fans 71A, 71A and cooling fans 71B, 71B by sending controlsignals to the switch subcontroller 321 (in other words, via the switchsubcontroller 321). In other words, the switch subcontroller 321controls the speed of the cooling fans 71A, 71A and cooling fans 71B,71B in accordance with control signals from the main controllers 10A and10B. The switch subcontroller 321 is a circuit substrate with smallersurface area than that of the main controllers 10A and 10B.

Further, the main controllers 10A and 10B are electrically connected tothe battery subcontroller 323 and are able to control the discharge ofthe batteries 60A and 60B by sending control signals to the batterysubcontroller 323 (in other words, via the battery subcontroller 323).In other words, the battery subcontroller 323 controls the discharge ofthe batteries 60A and 60B in accordance with control signals from themain controllers 10A and 10B. The battery subcontroller 323 is a circuitsubstrate that has a smaller surface area that that of the maincontrollers 10A and 10B. The battery subcontroller 323 and batteries 60Aand 60B are connected by means of a cable 706.

In cases where the power output from the power devices 50A and 50B isdisrupted, the batteries 60A and 60B are able to supply power of apredetermined voltage to each of the HDD 20 and main controllers 10A and10B. In the period during which the power is being backed up by thebatteries 60, the main controllers 10A and 10B are able to write datathat is stored in the cache memory (See FIG. 6) that will be describedsubsequently to the HDD 20.

FIG. 6 shows a functional block diagram of the storage device 1.

When the description is provided by taking the main controller 10A byway of an example, the main controller 10A comprises a host interfacesection 110A, a backend interface section 120A, a processor section130A, and a data transfer control section 140A. The host interfacesection 110A exchanges data with the host computer 700. The backendinterface section 120A exchanges data with each of the HDD 20. Theprocessor section 130A controls the overall operation of the storagedevice 1. The data transfer control section 140A controls the transferof data read from the respective HDD 20 as well as the data receivedfrom the host computer 700.

The backend interface sections 120A and 120B are each connected to therespective HDD 20. Therefore, even in cases where there is a fault witheither the backend interface section 120A or the communication path (thecommunication path between the backend interface section 120A and therespective HDD 20), it is possible to access each HDD 20 via the otherbackend interface section 120B and the other communication path.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the maincontroller 10A.

The host interface section 110A comprises an iSCSI (internet SmallComputer System Interface) protocol chip 111, for example. The protocolchip 111A is a circuit for communicating with the host computer 700 onthe basis of the iSCSI protocol. The communication with the hostcomputer 700 may be carried out using a protocol other than the iSCSIprotocol.

The backend interface section 120A comprises an SAS protocol chip 121Aand an expander 122A, for example. The SAS protocol chip 121A is acircuit for communicating with the respective HDD 20 on the basis of theSAS protocol. The expander 122A is an expansion port (a switch device,for example) for connecting the main controller 10A with an externaldevice (the HDD 20 and a separate storage device 1, for example).

The processor sections 130 comprise, for example, a CPU 131A, a bridge132A, and a memory 133A. The bridge 132A connects the CPU 131A and thememory 133A. In addition, the CPU 131 is connected to the DMA circuit141 by the bridge 132A. The CPU 131 is able to process 110 requests fromthe host computer 700 by reading and executing various programs that arepre-stored in the memory 133A.

The data transfer control section 140A comprises a DMA (Direct MemoryAccess) circuit 141A and a cache memory 142A, for example. The DMAcircuit 141A is a circuit whereby the respective protocol chips 111A and121A are able to access the cache memory 142A without the interventionof the CPU 131A. The cache memory 142A is a memory for temporarilystoring data received from the host computer 700 and data that are readfrom the HDD 20.

The respective protocol chips 111A and 121A and the DMA circuit 141 areconnected by a serial transfer interface such as an interface known as aPCI Express. Likewise, the bridge 132A and DMA circuit 141A areconnected by the serial transfer interface.

The storage device 1 can be connected to another storage device 1.Accordingly, data stored in the storage device 1 can be copied to theother storage device 1 (the storage device 1 can be replaced, forexample). The communication connector for performing such a datatransfer between the storage devices is contained in the communicationconnector groups 307A and 307B of the main controllers 10A and 10B, forexample. The main controllers 10A and 10B are able to copy data storedin the storage device 1 to the other new storage device 1 in accordancewith instructions from the device controlling the replacement of thestorage device 1, for example.

In cases where any of the pre-installed HDD 20(N) is obstructed, forexample, the main controllers 10A and 10B is able to restore the data byperforming a so-called correction copy with the repair HDD 20(R) (thatis, the repair HDD 20(R) can be used instead of the obstructed HDD20(N)). Furthermore, when the number of obstructed HDD 20(N) exceeds thenumber of repair HDD 20(R) or when a fault other than one with the HDD20 is detected, the main controllers 10A and 10B are able to copy thedata in the storage device 1 to the other storage device 1.

<Determination of a Suitable Drive Connector Position in which the HDD20(N) is not Connected>

As mentioned earlier, the storage device 1 according to this embodimentcan comprise a maximum of fourteen HDD 20 including repair HDD 20(R)and, of these, the maximum number of HDD 20(N) is twelve. A RAID groupof predetermined RAID levels (RAID6, for example) is connected by meansof twelve or fewer HDD 20(N).

Stated more broadly, the maximum number X of HDD can be installed in thestorage device 1 (X is an integer of three or more, for example). Ofthese, the maximum number Y of HDD 20 that can be pre-installed is anumber that is obtained by subtracting the maximum number Z of repairHDD 20(R) that can be installed (where Z is an integer of 1 or more, forexample) from X (that is, Y=X−Z). The storage device 1 does notnecessarily have Y HDD 20(N) pre-installed therein and, depending on thespecifications, the number of HDD 20(N) is sometimes less than Y.

More specifically, the number of HDD 20(N) is any of six, eight, ortwelve, for example. In cases where the number of HDD 20(N) is six, thesix HDD 20(N) can be constituted by four HDD (D) and two HDD (P). Whenthe number of HDD 20(N) is eight, the eight HDD 20(N) can be constitutedby six HDD (D) and two HDD (P). In cases where the number of HDD 20(N)is twelve, the twelve HDD 20(N) can be constituted by nine HDD (D), twoHDD (P) and one HDD (S).

In other words, the HDD can be broadly classified into three typesdepending on the application. The HDD that belong to the first type areHDD which are used for the storage of data. The HDD that belong to thefirst type include HDD (D) for storing data elements and HDD (P) forstoring parity calculated from the plurality of data elements. The HDDbelonging to the second type are spare HDD (S). The spare HDD (S) areused in cases where a fault occurs with any of the HDD (HDD(D) andHDD(P)) belonging to the first type and are prepared HDD. The HDD thatbelong to the third type are repair HDD 20(R). The repair HDD 20(R) canbe used in cases where at least a certain type of HDD is obstructed and,therefore, may also be called another spare HDD.

In cases where the number of pre-installed HDD 20(N) is less than themaximum number of HDD 20(N) (in this case six or eight, for example),HDD are still not connected to any drive connector that exists on thefront face or on the rear face of the backboard 30. In other words, aspare drive connector then exists. There is the risk that an adverseeffect will occur due to the cooling performance and/or for anotherreason because any of the drive connectors is spare.

Therefore, spare drive connectors are determined through theinstallation of the HDD 20(N) in accordance with all of the followingrules 1 to 5 in this embodiment. Each of these rules will be describedhereinbelow with reference to the schematic diagram of the driveconnector matrix which is exemplified in FIG. 9. In the drive connectormatrix, there are row 1, row 2, and row 3 working from top to bottom andcolumn 1, column 2, column 3, and column 4 working from left to right.In addition, a column that exists on the rear face of the backboard 30and behind column 1 is column 1′. Further, the positions of the driveconnectors (cells in FIG. 9) are expressed as a combination (row:column).

(Rule 1): the HDD 20(N) are connected in order of priority to driveconnectors located in front of devices of low temperature lifedependence (in other words, upstream of the air flow);

(Rule 2): spare drive connectors should not be successive in eachcolumn;

(Rule 3): The positions of two drive connectors that correspond with tworepair HDD 20(R) respectively are in column 4 (example of far-rightcolumn) (may also be column 1);

(Rule 4): Spare drive connectors should, as far as possible, not besuccessive in the row direction from column 3 to column 4 that straddlethe horizontally disposed main controllers 10A and 10B; and

(Rule 5): HDD 20(N) are connected in order of priority to the driveconnectors belonging to the bottom row.

The result of following Rules 1 to 5 are as shown in FIG. 9. The numbersin the respective cells of FIG. 9 indicate the ranking order in whichthe HDD 20(N) are installed. The lower the number, the higher thepriority. This will be described in specific terms hereinbelow.

The devices with the highest temperature life dependence among thebatteries, HDD, CPU (processor) and power devices, for example, are thebatteries; the devices with the next highest temperature life dependenceare the HDD; the device with the next highest temperature lifedependence is the CPU, and the devices with the lowest temperature lifedependence are the power devices. The batteries 60A and 60B are behindcolumn 2 (downstream of the cooling air stream). The HDD are behindcolumn 1 if same are connected to the drive connector belonging tocolumn 1′. The CPU is installed in the main controllers 10A and 10B and,therefore, behind columns 3 to 4. The power devices 71A and 71B arebehind column 1′. Hence, in accordance with (Rule 1), HDD 20(N) arepreferentially connected to column 1′, HDD 20(N) are then preferentiallyconnected to columns 3 and 4, and HDD 20(N) are preferentially connectedto column 1, and the column 2 has the lowest ranking order for theconnection of the HDD 20(N). According to (Rule 1), the assignment of acool air stream for each type of device that exists behind the driveconnector is optimized and, therefore, each type oftemperature-dependent device is afforded a longer life.

In accordance with (Rule 2), a ranking order in which row 2 of rows 1 to3 is afforded the highest priority (the ranking order for the connectionof the HDD 20(N)) is established. In accordance with (Rule 2), even whena first inside front bezel part is, per chance, removed, because the HDDslots succeed each other vertically, the user finds it difficult(substantially impossible) to insert his hand inside the enclosure viathe front face of the enclosure and, consequently, protection of theinterior of the storage device from static electricity as well ascontact by the user with the active parts (the wiring and terminals andso forth on the circuit board, for example) is sought.

In accordance with (Rule 3), in combination with (Rule 2), the positionsof the two drive connectors to which repair HDD 20(R) are connected are(row 1: column 4) and (row 3: column 4). In accordance with (Rule 3), incomparison with a case where the repair HDD 20(R) are connected tocolumn 2 and column 3, the insertion and removal of the repair HDD 20(R)is performed easily. In addition, because the repair HDD 20(R) are notnecessarily installed and the main controllers 10A and 10B are behindcolumn 4, an increase in the amount of cool air stream for the processorcan be expected.

In accordance with (Rule 4), in combination with (Rule 3), HDD 20(N) aremost preferentially connected to column 3 of columns 1 to 4. Inaccordance with (Rule 4), prevention of a concentrated cool air streamon the main controllers 10A and 10B can be expected.

In accordance with (Rule 5), HDD 20(N) are preferentially connected torow 3 among rows 1 to 3 and then HDD 20(N) are preferentially connectedto row 2. In accordance with (Rule 5), the bottom side of the enclosure2 can be weighted more heavily than the top side of the enclosure inorder to render the enclosure 2 stable.

According to FIG. 9, the priority levels 0 to 13 are determined.However, because there are a minimum of six HDD 20(N) in thisembodiment, HDD 20(N) are compulsorily connected to the drive connectorscorresponding with the priority levels 0 to 5.

<Prevention of Erroneous Connections that Accompany the Exclusivity ofthe Storage Device>

As mentioned earlier, a plurality of HDD 20 that are installed in thestorage device 1 are constituted only by SAS HDD or only by SATA HDD.Hereinafter, a storage device in which the plurality of HDD 20 areconstituted only by SAS HDD (in other words, a SAS-dedicated storagedevice) will be referred to as a ‘SAS storage device’, a storage devicein which a plurality of HDD 20 are constituted by only SATA HDD (inother words, a SATA-dedicated storage device) is referred to as a ‘SATAstorage device’. The main controllers 10A and 10B installed in a SASstorage device 1 are constituted to communicate using SAS signals andthe main controllers 10A and 10B installed in a SATA storage device 1are constituted to communicate using SATA signals.

FIG. 10A shows a valid SAS HDD connection and FIG. 10B shows a validSATA HDD connection.

As can be seen from FIGS. 10A and 10B, in this embodiment, thespecifications of the backboard 30 are common to both the SAS storagedevice 1 and the SATA storage device 1. More specifically, for example,the drive connector provided on the backboard 30 is a connector used forSAS (‘SAS connector’ hereinbelow) 331.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10A, for the SAS HDD 20S, byconnecting the SAS connector 333S on the SAS HDD 20S (‘HDD-side SASconnector’ hereinbelow) to the SAS connector (‘backboard-side SASconnector’ hereinbelow) 331 on the backboard 30 as they are, the SAS HDD20S is electrically connected and therefore then able to communicatewith the main controllers 10A and 10B, for example.

However, as shown in FIG. 10B, for the SATA HDD 20A, the SATA connector(the ‘HDD-side SATA connector’ hereinbelow) 333A on the SATA HDD 20A isnot connected as is to the backboard-side SAS connector 331. This isbecause, although the SATA HDD 20A can be physically connected to thebackboard 30, same is not electrically connected. Hence, as shown inFIG. 10B, the SATA HDD 20A must be connected to the backboard 30 via adongle board 329 constituting an interface conversion device (a devicethat mutually converts a SATA interface and SAS interface). Morespecifically, the dongle board 329 is a small circuit substrate. Thedongle board 329 has a SATA connector (dongle-side SATA connectorhereinbelow) 332A on one side and a SAS connector (a dongle-side SASconnector hereinbelow) 332S on the other side. By connecting thedongle-side SATA connector 332A and the HDD-side SATA connector 333A andconnecting the dongle-side SAS connector 332S and backboard-side SASconnector 331, the SATA HDD 20A is electrically connected and thus ableto communicate with the main controllers 10A and 10B, for example.

Because the drive connector that is provided on the backboard 30 is SASconnector 331, there is the possibility of an erroneous SATA HDDconnection and, in particular, an erroneous repair SATA HDD 20A(R)connection taking place. The following three cases may be considered aserroneous connection cases.

(Erroneous connection case 1) A case where the user forgets to attachthe dongle board 329 to the SATA storage device 1 when inserting theSATA HDD 20A and connecting same to the backboard 30. The SATA HDD 20Ais physically connected to the backboard 30 but not electricallyconnected thereto (See FIG. 11A).

(Erroneous connection case 2) A case where the SATA HDD 20A is insertedin the SAS storage device 1 and connected to the backboard 30. In thiscase also, as shown in FIG. 11A, the SATA HDD 20A is physicallyconnected to the backboard 30 but not electrically connected thereto.

(Erroneous connection case 3) A case where the SATA HDD 20A to which thedongle board 329 has been connected is inserted in the SAS storagedevice 1 and connected to the backboard 30.

In this embodiment, any of the erroneous connections of (erroneousconnection case 1) to (erroneous connection case 3) can also beprevented by means of a variety of measures that will be describedhereinbelow.

<Prevention of Erroneous Connections of (Erroneous Connection Case 1)and (Erroneous Connection Case 3)>

Although the SATA HDD 20A can be physically connected to the SASconnector, the SAS HDD 20S cannot also be physically connected to theSATA connector. When this kind of connector connective relationship isconsidered, the following measures are taken in this embodiment.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 12A, the dongle board 329 is connectedbeforehand (at least before the storage device 1 is shipped) to all ofthe SAS connectors 331 of the backboard 30 of the SATA storage device 1.As a result, the erroneous connection of (erroneous connection case 1)can be prevented. More specifically, even when the repair SATA HDD20A(R) is inserted by the user without attaching the dongle board 329,the repair SATA HDD 20A(R) is electrically connected to the backboard30. In addition, even when a repair SAS HDD 20S(R) is inserted bymistake to the SATA storage device 1, the dongle board 329 is connectedbeforehand to the backboard 30 and the dongle-side SATA connector 332Ais facing toward the front face. Hence, the repair SAS HDD 20S(R) thathas been inserted by mistake cannot also be physically connected to thebackboard 30.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 30, SAS storage device 1 may be introducedby the user without the dongle board 329 being attached as an accessory.Accordingly, the erroneous connection of the (erroneous connection case3) can be prevented. More specifically, because the user is not providedwith the dongle board 329, it is possible to prevent the insertion intothe SAS storage device 1 by attaching the dongle board 329 to the repairSATA HDD 20A(R).

<Prevention of the Erroneous Connection of (Erroneous Connection Case2)>

Because the shape of the HDD-side SAS connector 333S and HDD-side SATAconnector 333A are substantially the same, not only the SAS HDD 20S butalso the SATA HDD 20A can be physically connected as is to thebackboard-side SAS connector 331. However, there is a slight discrepancyin the shapes of the HDD-side SAS connector 333S and HDD-side SATAconnector 333A. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 12B, the tip of theHDD-side SAS connector 333S is provided with a cutout 335. However, asshown in FIG. 12C, the tip of the HDD-side SATA connector 333A is notprovided with such a cutout.

Therefore, the backboard-side SAS connector 331 in the SAS storagedevice 1 is constituted with a focus on this discrepancy. Morespecifically, as shown in FIG. 12D, a protrusion (pin, for example) 337that extends from the end face of the backboard-side SAS connector 331toward the rear is provided in a position facing the cutout 335 of theconnected HDD-side SAS connector 333S of the backboard-side SASconnector 331 of the backboard 30 of the SAS storage device 1 (theprotrusion will be called the ‘first protrusion’ hereinbelow). As aresult, the erroneous connection of the (erroneous connection case 2)can be prevented. In other words, if the repair HDD 20(R) that isinserted in the SAS storage device 1 is a repair SAS HDD 20S(R), thefirst protrusion 337 penetrates the cutout 335 in the HDD-side SASconnector 330S of the HDD 20S(R) relatively before the HDD-side SASconnector 330S finally fits into the backboard-side SAS connector 331(that is, to establish a valid connection). However, if the repair HDD20(R) that has been inserted into the SAS storage device 1 is a repairSATA HDD 20A(R), the tip of the HDD-side SATA connector 330A of the HDD20A(R) (thickness forming the outer perimeter surface and the insideperimeter surface) collides with the first protrusion 337 and cannotprogress in the insertion direction mentioned earlier. Hence, anerroneous connection of the repair SATA HDD 20A(R) can be prevented.

<Modified Example for the Prevention of the Erroneous Connection of the(Erroneous Connection Case 2)>

As shown in FIG. 13A, the CPU 131A′ and 131B′ that are installed in themain controllers 10A and 10B execute an erroneous connection sensingprogram 351. In cases where the computer program is the subjecthereinbelow, the processing is actually carried out by a CPU thatexecutes this computer program.

The erroneous connection sensing program 351 senses the fact that a SATAHDD 20A has been erroneously connected to the SAS storage device 1 and,in cases where this is sensed, transmits information for displaying awarning to the effect that a SATA HDD has been connected by mistake to apredetermined device such as the management computer of the SAS storagedevice 1 so that the predetermined device is made to display the warning(See FIG. 13B).

Methods of sensing an erroneous connection include a method whereby asignal indicating the type of connected HDD is input to processorsections 130A′ and 130B′ of the main controllers 10A and 10Brespectively via the backboard 30. Other methods of sensing include, forexample, a method according to which a specified electrical signal isinput to the processing sections 130A′ and 130B′ in cases where a SATAHDD 20A is connected but not input to the processing sections 130A′ and130B′ in cases where a SAS HDD 20S is connected, for example. Yetanother sensing method is a method according to which the erroneousconnection sensing program 351 issues a command (an inquiry, forexample) which cannot be interpreted by a SATA HDD 20A but can beinterpreted by an SAS HDD 20S and senses that a SATA HDD 20A has beenerroneously connected in cases where a predetermined response to thecommand is not received.

<Modified Example for Preventing the Erroneous Connection of the(Erroneous Connection Case 3)>

A method that involves devising the constitution of the backboard anddongle board can also be adopted in place of the method in which thedongle board 329 is not attached to the SAS storage device 1.

As shown in FIG. 14A, a hole (a sunken or penetrating hole, for example)355 is provided in the vicinity (within an area of the backboard 30opposite the dongle board 329 in a case where the dongle board 329 isconnected to the SAS connector 331, for example) of the SAS connector331 to which the HDD 20 is connected (at least the SAS connector 331 towhich a repair HDD 20 (R) is connected) in the surface having the SASconnector 331 of the backboard 30′. In addition, a protrusion (a pin,for example) 357 that extends perpendicularly to the surface is providedon the surface with the dongle-side SAS connector 332S of a dongle board329′. Hereinbelow, protrusion 357 is called the ‘second protrusion 357’and the hole 355 is called the ‘protrusion-receiving hole 355’.

The tip of the second protrusion 357 is located closer to the tip thanthe tip of the dongle-side SAS connector 332S. In other words, thelength from the surface with the dongle-side SAS connector 332A of thedongle board 329′ is greater for the second protrusion 357 than for thedongle-side SAS connector 332S. In other words, the length of the secondprotrusion 357 is of a certain length so that the tip of the secondprotrusion 357 is located in the surface of backboard 30′ before thedongle-side SAS connector 332S substantially fits into thebackboard-side SAS connector 331.

The positional relationship of the second protrusion 357 andprotrusion-receiving hole 355 is a positional relationship such that thesecond protrusion 357 goes into the protrusion-receiving hole 355 incases where the SATA HDD 20A to which the dongle board 329′ is attachedis connected to the backboard-side SAS connector 331 (in other words, apositional relationship in which the second protrusion 357 andprotrusion-receiving hole 355 face each other).

In cases where the storage device 1 is the SATA storage device 1, therepair SATA HDD 20A(R) to which the dongle board 329′ is attached isinserted in the repair HDD slot and the second protrusion 357 goes intothe protrusion-receiving hole 355 such that the dongle-side SASconnector 332S fits into the backboard-side SAS connector 331, wherebythe repair SATA HDD 20A(R) is electrically connected to the backboard30.

However, in cases where the storage device 1 is a SAS storage device 1,the SAS storage device 1 is shipped with the protrusion-receiving hole355 of the backboard 30 covered (embedded, for example). As a result,the erroneous connection to the SAS storage device 1 of the repair SATAHDD 20A(R) to which the dongle board 329′ is attached can be prevented.This is because the tip of the second protrusion 357 from the dongleboard 329′ collides with the member that is the lid of theprotrusion-receiving hole 355 before the dongle-side SAS connector 332Ssubstantially fits into the backboard-side SAS connector 331. Theprotrusion-receiving hole 355 can be covered by means of a variety ofmembers. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 14B, for example, theprotrusion-receiving hole 355 can be covered by an insulating membersuch as plastic (rivet-shaped member, for example) 361 (FIG. 14C shows aperspective view of the member 361).

The measures described with reference to FIGS. 14A to 14C may beeffected in order to prevent an erroneous connection of at least therepair HDD while such measures need not be carried out for the HDD20(N). This is because the HDD 20(N) are HDD that are pre-installedbefore the storage device 1 is shipped and are outside the realm ofmaintenance by the user (not exchange targets).

<Prevention of the Application of Static Electricity from the Front Faceof the Enclosure to Inside the Enclosure>

In this embodiment, measures for preventing static electricity frombeing applied within the enclosure from the front face of the enclosureare effected for repair HDD slots and also the other HDD slots.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 15A, a first inside front bezel 402that covers the area occupied by HDD slots other than the repair HDDslots (in other words, the area in which the HDD 20(N) exists) isattached to the front face of the enclosure. The first inside frontbezel 402 is constituted, for example, by a conductive plate (a metallicplate, for example) 401 of a shape that covers the area occupied by HDDslots other than the repair HDD slots and an insulating plate (a plasticplate, for example) 403 that is bonded to the surface of the conductiveplate (sheet metal, for example) 401. The insulating plate 403 is thickin comparison with the conductive plate 401, for example.

In addition, conductive doors (metallic doors, for example) that openand close the repair HDD slot 409 are provided. As shown in FIG. 15B,the doors are the so-called double doors 411A and 411B and areconstituted to open rearward in the same direction as the direction inwhich the repair HDD 20(R) are inserted. The repair HDD slots 409 areprovided in positions that are spaced apart in a forward direction equalto or more than the respective widths K of each of the double doors 411Aand 411B from the front face (the face opposite the face having theHDD-side SAS connector or the HDD-side SATA connector) of the connectedrepair HDD 20(R) (if the widths of the double doors 411A and 411B aredifferent, the repair HDD slots 409 are provided in positions spacedapart in a forward direction by longer widths). Hence, two repair HDDslots 409 are located forward of the position of the other HDD slot 468,in other words, in front of the enclosure front face. Because the doorsare not single doors but rather double doors, the distance required towithdraw the repair HDD slots 409 in a forward direction can be keptshort and, therefore, the size of the storage device 1 in the depthdirection can be suppressed. As shown in FIG. 15A, a second inside frontbezel 405 is attached to two repair HDD slots 409 that are located infront of the enclosure front face. The second inside front bezel 405 isan insulating plate, for example. More specifically, the second insidefront bezel 405 is constituted by the same material as that of theinsulating plate 403 of the first inside front bezel 402. The area ofthe second inside front bezel 405 is an area that is capable of coveringthe area corresponding to a line of HDD, for example.

The inside front bezels are constituted by the first inside front bezel402 and the second inside front bezel 405. At least one thickness of thethickness of the conductive plate 401, the thickness of the insulatingplate 403 and the thickness of the second inside front bezel 405 isadjusted so that the surface of the inside front bezels aresubstantially flush. An outside front bezel 3 is attached to the frontsides of the inside front bezels.

Of the first inside front bezel 402 and the second inside front bezel405, the first inside front bezel 402 is attached by means of welding orthe like, for example, to the front face of the enclosure so as to beundetachable by the user. However, the second inside front bezel 405 isattached so as to be detachable by the user. In cases where the userinserts or removes a repair HDD 20(R), for example, the user removes theoutside front bezel 3, the second inside front bezel 405 and theninserts or removes the repair HDD 20(R).

<Mechanism for Securing the HDD>

As mentioned earlier, the HDD 20 themselves are directly installed inthe enclosure 2 without the use of a canister. The possibility of theconnected HDD 20 moving in the insertion direction or in the oppositedirection during the operation of the storage device 1 after the HDD 20has been connected to the backboard 30 is considered (See FIG. 16A). Theexpansion or compression of the HDD 20-side connector and/or backboard30-side SAS connector due to the effect of heat is considered to be onereason for such movement.

In addition, in cases where the position of the backboard 30 is the samein the SAS storage device 1 and SATA storage device 1 as shown in FIG.16B, the position of the front face of the connected HDD 20 differs inSAS storage device 1 and SATA storage device 1. More specifically, thefront face of the SATA HDD 20A is located further forward than the frontface of the SAS HDD 20S. This is because the dongle board 329 isinterposed between the SATA HDD 20A and backboard 30.

In this embodiment, measures for securing the HDD that focus on theabove are taken. These measures will be described in detail hereinbelow.

FIG. 17 shows the back of the inside front bezel.

The back of the inside front bezel 501 is provided with elastic membersfor pushing the HDD opposite each position facing the respective HDDthat can exist in the intra-enclosure front part toward the rear (in thedepth direction). The elastic members may be constituted by rubberportions or springs. However, in this embodiment, the elastic membersare plate spring portions 423. The plate spring portions 423 areconstituted by two plate springs 421A and 421B. The heights of the platesprings 421A and 421B that constitute the plate spring portion 423 (R)on the back of the second inside front bezel 405 (in other words, theplate spring portion 423 (R) that is in a position facing the repair HDDslots 409) are made greater than the heights of the plate springs 421Aand 421B that constitute the plate spring portion 423 (N) on the rearside of the first inside front bezel 402 (the back of the conductiveplate 401) (in other words, the plate spring portion 423 (N) that is ina position facing the HDD slots in which the HDD 20(N) are inserted).This is because the distance between the back of the second inside frontbezel 405 and the front face of the repair HDD 20(R) is greater than thedistance between the back of the first inside front bezel 402 and thefront face of the HDD 20(N).

The inside front bezel 501 is provided with a plurality of through-bores(not illustrated) for the passage of air from the surface to the back ofthe inside front bezel 501. Accordingly, air that is taken in via theoutside front bezel 3 is able to flow inside the enclosure by passingthrough the inside front bezel 501.

The inside front bezel 501 is common to both the SAS storage device 1and SATA storage device 1. Hence, the pushing forces exerted by therespective plate spring portions 423 (includes both the 423(N) and423R)) that are provided on the back of the inside front bezel 501 is aforce such that the difference between the position of the front face ofthe SAS HDD 20S and the position of the front face of the SATA HDD 20Ais absorbed and such that there is no movement toward the front as aresult of the resin or the like of the connector by the SAS HDD 20S orthe SATA HDD 20A. More specifically, for the respective plate springportions 423 the positions of the front faces of the SAS HDD 20S and thepositions of the front faces of the SATA HDD 20A differ to some extentand the pushing force on the HDD 20 in a state where the inside frontbezel 501 is attached to the enclosure front face based on the distancebetween the back of the first inside front bezel 402 and the HDD 20(N)and the distance between the back of the second inside front bezel 405and the repair HDD 20(R) in a state where the inside front bezel 501 isattached to the enclosure front face satisfies the following conditions:

(Condition 1) The pushing force on the SAS HDD 20S is greater than theforce when the SAS HDD 20S deviates due to resin or the like from thebackboard-side SAS connector 331.

(Condition 2) The pushing force on the SATA HDD 20A is greater than boththe force when the SATA HDD 20A deviates due to resin or the like fromthe dongle-side SATA connector 332A and also the force when the dongleboard 329 deviates due to resin or the like from the backboard-side SASconnector 331.

FIG. 18A is a perspective view of a part of the back of the inside frontbezel 501 in a horizontal orientation.

The plate springs 421A and 421B are aligned in the width direction ofthe HDD 20. When the inside front bezel 501 is attached to the frontside of the enclosure, the plate springs 421A and 421B shrink (that is,the spring height is low) and, as a result, the plate springs 421A and421B push the HDD 20(N) toward the rear of the enclosure. The respectiveplate springs 421A and 421B are secured by means of a member such as arivet 425 to the back of the inside front bezel 501 (more specifically,to the back of the conductive plate 401 or the back of the second insidefront bezel 405). The plate springs 421A and 421B are secured at two ormore points. As a result, the rotation of the plate springs 421A and421B can be prevented.

FIG. 18B shows a modified example of a plate spring portion.

As shown in FIG. 18B, the plate spring portion 423′ may be one platespring 420 in which the plate springs 421A and 421B are integrated. Theplate spring 420 may also be fixed at two or more points by means ofmembers such as rivets 425 in order to prevent rotation. However, theplate spring 420 can be secured by means of a smaller number of membersthan in cases where there is separation as in the case of the springs421A and 421B. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced.

<Mechanism for Preventing Breaking of the Seal while the Power on StatePrevails>

As shown in FIG. 19, part of the upper surface of the enclosure 2 isconstituted by the second enclosure cover 431. The second enclosurecover 431 is provided so as to be detachable by the user. When thesecond enclosure cover 431 is removed while the power of the storagedevice 1 remains ON, there is the risk that the user will be injured dueto contact with the active parts or that the storage device 1 will fail.

Therefore, in this embodiment, measures for preventing the breaking ofthe seal of the second enclosure cover while the power remains ON aretaken. Such measures will be described hereinbelow.

As shown in FIG. 19, a frame 912 that surrounds power cable connectors305A and 305B extends downward along the rear face of the enclosure 2from a part of the perimeter of the upper surface of the secondenclosure cover 431. Because the power cable connectors 305A and 305Bare surrounded by the frame 912, the second enclosure cover 431 can beremoved after the power cable connectors 305A and 305B are pulled fromthe AC power cables 433A and 433B as shown in FIG. 20.

The second enclosure cover 431 is normally secured, by means of a fixingmember (a detachable member such as a screw, for example), to the rearof the enclosure via the frame 912 or the like, for example, and,consequently, not only is removal of the second enclosure cover 431limited but also the second enclosure cover 431 cannot be made to slidein the depth direction of the enclosure 2. By removing the fixingmember, the second enclosure cover 431 can be made to slide in the depthdirection of the enclosure 2 but, when allowed to slide without limits,the leading edge of the second enclosure cover 431 is also raised abovethe upper surface of the enclosure irrespective of whether the AC powercables 433A and 433B are still connected, as shown in FIG. 21.

In this embodiment, measures for preventing so-called tilted opening asexemplified by FIG. 21 are also implemented.

As shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, a first lug 435 that extends forward isprovided on the leading edge of the second enclosure cover 431. Thefirst lug 435 hooks onto the back of the first enclosure cover 441 (or agroove may be provided in the thickness of the first enclosure cover 441so that the first lug 435 may be inserted in the groove).

In addition, a plurality of second lugs 437 are provided in the vicinityof both edges of the back of the second enclosure cover 431. The secondlugs 437 are L-shaped lugs, for example. The second lugs 437 hook intolug holes 982 (See FIG. 31B) as a result of entering lug holes 982 (SeeFIG. 31A) provided in each of the two walls of the enclosure 2 and thesecond enclosure cover 431 being made to slide forward when the secondenclosure cover 431 is made to cover the enclosure 2. If the secondenclosure cover 431 is secured to the enclosure using a fixing member,the second enclosure cover 431 is unable to slide in the anteroposteriordirection but, if the fixing member is removed, the second enclosurecover 431 is able to slide by a distance L2 while the second lugs 437still remain in the lug holes 982. Here, the length L3 of the lug holes982 is substantially the same as (slightly longer than) the maximumlength L4 of the second lugs 437 and the length of the hooked portion438 of the second lug 437 is L2. Hence, the distance over which slidingis possible is substantially L2.

The length L1 of the first lug 435 may be longer than the distance L2that the second enclosure cover 431 is made to slide in theanteroposterior direction in a state where the fixing member for fixingthe second enclosure cover 431 is removed (that is, the distance L2 overwhich the second lug 437 is able to move in the anteroposteriordirection within the lug hole 982). As a result, the so-called tiltedopening as shown in FIG. 21 is prevented.

The second enclosure cover 431 can be removed using the followingprocedure. In other words, all of the fixing members for fixing thesecond enclosure cover 431 are first removed. In addition, the AC powercables 433A and 433B are pulled from the power cable connectors 305A and305B. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 23A, the hooking of the second lug437 onto the lug holes 982 is removed by sliding the second enclosurecover 431 rearward as far as possible. As shown in FIG. 23B, the hookingof the first lug 435 onto the first enclosure cover 441 is removed byraising the rear part of the second enclosure cover 431 and the secondenclosure cover 431 is removed by pulling the second enclosure cover 431rearward.

<Control of the Speed of the Cooling Fan>

As mentioned earlier, the main controllers 10A and 10B are capable ofcontrolling the speeds of the cooling fans 71A and 71B via the switchsubcontroller 321.

More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 24, temperature sensors451A, 451B, and 451C are provided. The temperature sensors 451A and 451Bare provided in the processor sections 130A and 130B of the maincontrollers 10A and 10B (in CPU 131A and 131B). Temperature sensor 451Cis provided in the vicinity of the through hole 12B (in the vicinity ofthe cooling fan 71B between the main controllers 10A and 10B and thecooling fans 71B, for example). In order to clearly express the factthat the temperature sensors 451A, 451B, and 451C are provided, FIG. 24represents the temperature sensors 451A, 451B, and 451C by means ofcircles in a size that stands out but there is no need for the sizes ofthe temperature sensors 451A, 451B, and 451C to be as large as indicatedby these circles. The circles may be sufficiently smaller than thissize, for example (the same also goes for FIG. 28).

A first fan control table 453A that is exemplified by FIG. 25A and asecond fan control table 453B that is exemplified by FIG. 25B are storedin the memories 133A and 133B (or other storage resources) in theprocessor sections 130A and 130B of the main controllers 10A and 10B.The first fan control table 453A is a table that corresponds withtemperature sensor 451C and the second fan control table 453B is a tablethat corresponds with the temperature sensors 451A and 451B. Therespective tables 453A and 453B each record the correspondence betweenthe detected temperature range and speed.

The CPU 131A and 131B of the main controllers 10A and 10B are able tocarry out the cooling fan control processing shown in FIG. 26 byexecuting a cooling fan control program.

In other words, in a normal state (S431: YES), the cooling fan controlprogram controls the speed of the cooling fans 71A and 71B on the basisof the temperature detected in each case by the temperature sensors451A, 451B, and 451C and the fan control tables 453A and 453B (S432).More specifically, for example, the cooling fan control programspecifies a first speed that corresponds with the temperature detectedby the temperature sensor 451C from the fan control table 453A,specifies a second speed that corresponds with the temperature detectedby the temperature sensors 451A and 451B from the fan control table 453Band controls the cooling fans 71A and 71B so that same rotate at thehigher of the two speeds which are the first speed and the second speed.A ‘normal state’ refers to a state where none of the power devices 50Aand 50B, the CPU 131A and 131B, and the cooling fans 71A and 71B hasfailed.

However, if a normal state does not exist (S431: NO), in other words, ifa fault is detected in at least any of the power devices 50A and 50B,CPU 131A and 131B and the cooling fans 71A and 71B, the fan controlprogram exercises control so that the speed of the cooling fans 71A and71B is the maximum speed.

As a modified example of the fan control, a third fan control table 455that is exemplified in FIG. 27 is stored in memories 133A and 133B andthe third fan control table 455 may be used as the basis of the fancontrol processing. The third fan control table 455 records the speedcorresponding with each fault site. If the fan control program detects afault in the device (if S431 in FIG. 26 yields a NO), the fan controlprogram may specify a speed that corresponds with the device from thethird control table 455 in place of S433 and may control the coolingfans 71A and 71B so that same rotate at the specified speed.

As another modified example for the fan control, a temperature sensor451D may be provided in the vicinity of the other through-hole 17A inaddition to the temperature sensors 451A to 451C, as shown in FIG. 28.The fan control processing may be based on the temperature detected bythe temperature sensor 451D.

A few embodiments and modified examples of the present invention weredescribed hereinabove but these embodiments and modified examples areonly examples for the purpose of describing the present invention, therebeing no intention to limit the scope of the present invention to theseembodiments and modified examples. The present invention can also beimplemented in a variety of other forms without departing from thespirit of the invention.

1. A storage device, comprising: an enclosure; a plurality of drive connectors provided within the enclosure and to which media drives are connected, the plurality of drive connectors being arranged in a matrix configuration having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns; an expansion slot member having a smaller number of expansion drive slots than a number of media drives that can be pre-installed, the plurality of drive connectors being constituted by a first drive connector to which a media drive that is inserted via the expansion drive slot is connected and a second drive connector to which a pre-installed media drive is connected, the media drive connected to the first drive connector being installed so as to be detachable by a user, wherein the plurality of drive connectors includes two first drive connectors, the two first drive connectors being located in a same column of the matrix configuration; a cooling fan provided in the enclosure; a backboard which is a circuit substrate having all or some of the plurality of drive connectors on the front face thereof and which is disposed so as to divide an interior space of the enclosure in an anteroposterior direction; and a plurality of temperature-dependent devices disposed behind the backboard, wherein air is taken in via an enclosure front face from outside the enclosure as a result of rotation of the cooling fan, flows through the interior space of the enclosure, and then passes through the backboard.
 2. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the two first drive controllers are located in a right-most column of the matrix configuration.
 3. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the two first drive controllers are located in a left-most column of the matrix configuration.
 4. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of temperature-dependent devices include a battery and a power device; and a media drive is not connected to a drive connector in front of the battery and a media drive is connected to a drive connector in front of the power device.
 5. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the matrix configuration includes three rows and a middle row has a higher priority, whereby when media drives are connected to the plurality of drive connectors, the media drives are first connected to the middle row.
 6. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the matrix configuration includes four columns and a third column has a higher priority, whereby when media drives are connected to the plurality of drive connectors, the third column is filled with media drives before another column.
 7. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the matrix configuration includes three rows and a bottom row has a higher priority, whereby when media drives are connected to the plurality of drive connectors, the media drives are first connected to the bottom row.
 8. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein two or more media drives are connected to drive controllers such that the media drives are undetachable by the user.
 9. The storage device according to claim 8, wherein the drive controllers connected to the two or more media drives are located on a rear face of the backboard. 